Star Wars is heading back to the big screen after a very long hiatus where they focused primarily on small screen releases and animated shows. The adventures of Din Djarin and little Grogu continue with the upcoming release of The Mandalorian and Grogu, which is set to make the jump to lightspeed in the UK on May 22nd. Are we disappointed it isn’t out on May 4th? Sure. Are we excited that Mando is making his big screen debut? Dank farrik, of course we are.
To celebrate its upcoming release, we’ve decided to do something special. Just from the trailer alone, The Mandalorian and Grogu is introducing characters new to a galaxy far, far away, as well as characters from other shows- both animated and live-action. So, to help contextualise what this all means we’ve put together a little character guide for you, highlighting the characters, where they came from and what it means for the movie.
Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal)
Our favourite Mandalorian. After the events of Season 3, Din and Grogu find a little home on the outskirts of Nevarro’s main centre, but it’s definitely not a retirement home, that’s not in Mando’s DNA. Din end’s up taking on work for the New Republic’s Carson Teva as an unofficial and independent contractor. In a way, it seems like bounty hunting again, but for the good guys. This new film seems to set up Din and Grogu travelliing across the galaxy in search for any Empire remnants.
How does that lead Din to the Hutts? Well, that part is a bit of a mystery. The crime syndicates could be forming an alliance with whatever remains of the Empire in order to build strenght. Afterall, Grand Admiral Thrawn has returned and he’s going to need more than a few Star Destroyers if he wants to take on the New Republic. There could also be a different reason, perhaps to do with Grogu. While Din has indeed adopted Grogu, it’s not exactly similar to raising a Foundling. Grogu is strong with the force and he’ll outlive Mando by centuries- Where does that leave Grogu? Maybe there’s more to discover in regards to the Jedi’s future and what that means for little Grogu.
Grogu
He’s still a little cutie who loves to cause chaos aboard the newly refurbished Razor Crest. It’s hard to say what role Grogu will play in this upcoming movie. However, it seems as though he’ll be much more active in terms of moving around and fine-tuning his Jedi abilities. As previously stated, Mando has adopted Grogu. But we’d like to think that the many mysteries surrounding Grogu’s existence are still up for debate and further exploration. He is a member of a nameless species that don’t have a homeworld and appear completely endangered despite their length lifespan. It would be interesting to see how this film could expand on those ideas.
The trailer does confirm that Grogu gets himself into a spot of trouble. Not only is he imprisoned in a small bird cage by the warlord Janu who may be working for the Hutts since this scene seems to show Mando’s fight against Rotta the Hutt. The bounty hunter Embo also has his sights on little Grogu in a bid to destroy Din Djarin.
As an additional note… It is great to see Grogu making friends with Babu Frik and the other Anzellans. They both give off the most chaotic kind of energy.
Ward (Sigourney Weaver)
The newest member of the Star Wars universe. Not much is known about her character apart from that she is a colonel of the New Republic’s Adelphi Rangers and a former pilot of the Rebel Alliance. In the movie, she acts as Mando’s handler, distributing assignments and targets for Din to neutralise in order to prevent another war. It’s safe to assume that her mission sets them on a path to the Hutts and the other looming warlords.
We can’t help but feel that something else is at play here… Something larger. As much as we love Sigourney, we feel as though there is more to her character than meets the eye. Whether that’s a good thing or not remains to be seen, but something feels off about Ward and her mission.
Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White)
Such a surprisingly return for a Hutt that many fans have probably surppressed. Rotta the Hutt is the huge gladiator warrior that Mando is seen fighting in the trailer. However, this is not the first time that we’ve encountered Jabba’s son. Rotta first appeared in the 2008 movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Nicknamed “Stinky” by Ahsoka Tano, the little baby Huttlet (yes, that’s real) is kidnapped in a bid to frame the Jedi. Both Anakin and Ahsoka spring into action to rescue Stinky from the Separatists.
Rotta has taken a very different role within the Hutt family and is arguably one of the most active members. We’re not entirely sure why, but it looks as though Rotta fancies himself a champion and will willingly take on any opponent to prove his strength and might in the ring… Which leads us to Mando. Whatever trouble Din and Grogu have stumbled upon, it leads to a 1v1 fight between Mando and Rotta.
The Hutt Twins
Of course, Jabba the Hutt had a brother and sister… The Hutt Twins attempt to fill the gap in the void following Jabba’s unfortunate death. They both become crime lords that operate throughout the era of the New Republic. In The Book of Boba Fett, The Twins attempt to start a war against Boba after he claims the throne of Tatooine as the new Daimyo. Any barters and attempts to negotiate, even after sending the legendary Black Krrsantan, were squandered and The Hutts depart allowing Boba to keep his throne.
In the upcoming film, The Hutts will seemingly play a rather big role. Not only are they present during the combat arena, but they also appear to hire the bounty hunter Embo to target both Din and Grogu. Their issues were with Boba, and Mando only got involved when the Pyke Syndicate invaded Mos Espa along with Cad Bane, so it’s a bit unclear as to why they’ve targeted Mando. It could be over the fact they may be liasing with remnants of the Empire and Mando is very much in the way, or maybe they’ve worked out who Grogu is and what he can do? Regardless of why, The Hutts have it out for Mando and they have an arsenal of tools at their disposal.
Janu (Jonny Coyne)
Janu is an imperial warlord scrambling to stay above water as the New Republic gain control and order throughout the galaxy. Not much is actually known about him, but he does feature in a recent clip. Both Mando and Zeb manage to capture Janu before being pursued and shot at. Our assumption, apart from wiping another pawn off the Empire’s board, is that Janu may have information regarding the Shadow Council’s intentions and whereabouts. Either the bounty goes wrong, or this clip takes place much later in the film, but Janu is seen again during the fighting pitt against Mando and Rotta so while is role may seem small, he may actually be a big piece of the puzzle; a piece that could spell distaster for the New Republic’s endeavour for longing peace.
Hogsbreth
An Iktotchi who is seem with Janu. Again, another character shrouded in mystery. The only really good look we get of him is from the stands within the arena where he is seen with an imprisoned Grogu. It’s likely that he’ll have an incredibly minor role, especially with a name like Hogsbreth…
Zeb Orrelios (Steve Blum)
Zeb’s cameo return in Season 3 of The Mandalorian was a trumendous shock for Star Wars: Rebels fans. Since then, it’s always been a case of “when will he return?” and despite having multiple returning characters in Ahsoka, many of us were shocked that Zeb only got a mention from Sabine. Unsurprisingly, Zeb, voiced once again by Steve Blum, is still very much involved in the unraveling landscape that is the New Republic. As part of the Defence Fleet, Zeb is in charge of training new recruits. He also has a good relationship with Carson Teva who has been keeping tabs on Din Djarin. From the recently released clip, Zeb and Mando work together to extract Janu. We also see bits and pieces of him within the trailer, but his full role is unknown.
Considering his experience dealing with Thrawn and The Empire, he’ll probably jump at the opportunity to ensure the tyrants do not return. Then again, it’s hard to tell just how much he knows. Does he know about Thrawn’s return? Does he know that Ahsoka and Sabine are missing? Since Thrawn’s return marks a fresh start for the remnants of the Empire, it will be interesting to see if this film alludes to that in any capacity and using Zeb seems like a decent way to maintain that connective tissue between multiple shows and projects.
Embo & Keibu
Another fantastic throwback to The Clone Wars era. Embo is a Kyuzu bounty hunter that operated predominantly throughout the Clone Wars, often taking advantage of the chaos to take out targets. He built quite the career and quickly became a fan faovurite due to his unique arsenal and undeniably awesome appearance. Throughout his career, Embo faced many foes, including Maul and Ventress, and he has even worked with many other dangerous hunters like Boba Fett, Bossk and Dengar. While he has an impressive array of weaponry, one of his most useful tooks is his trusted pet Keibu the Anooba- not to be confused with Marrok, his previous Anooba seen in The Clone Wars.
Bounty hunters are pretty self explanatory. They’re given a target. They take the target our (hot or cold) and then get paid. It’s likely that Embo was hired by The Hutts to capture Mando and Grogu. It’s unclear how big of a role he’ll play, but considering both Filoni and Favreau understand his significance we’re willing to bet that it’ll be quite the showdown- a showdown worth while.
Dragonsnake
This is more of a fun little one. The Dragonsnake first appeared fully The Clone Wars and is a dragon-like creature that is native to both Dagobah and Nal Hutta- the homeworld of the Hutts. In Empire Strikes Back, the Dragonsake briefly appears on Dagobah when Luke and R2 land, but it was identified in the episoode Hunt for Ziro in The Clone Wars. It doesn’t seem likely that this creature will play a significant role, but it is great to see certain characters and creatures make the leap from animation to live-action.
Our prediction is that Grogu will calm the creature down when it is threatened. In the book From a Certain Point of View, a Dragonsnake called Bright Eyes is able to somehow sense the Dark Side coming from the Cave of Evil. While not 100% confirmed, there could be a connection to the Force that Grogu is able to manipulate.
We’re certain that more characters will appear in this movie, perhaps some surprise cameos… So if we missed anything or anyone, let us know. The countdown has officially begun and we cannot wait for Star Wars to return to the big screen. This is the way.
Are you ready for The Mandalorian And Grogu? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget to check out more Star Wars goodness right here.
